Mr Turnbull, the minister of communications, had told reporters at parliament house ahead of the vote: “Ultimately, the prime minister has not been capable of providing the economic leadership our nation needs.

"We need a different style of leadership."

Mr Abbott had ousted Mr Turnbull, a multi-millionaire former tech entrepreneur​, as leader of the Liberal Party in 2009 and led the party to a decisive general election victory in 2013.

He had survived a leadership challenge in February, but had failed to turn around the polls, bolster the economy or stop damaging leaks from within his party in the months after.

Mr Abbott was forced into a leadership ballot among his colleagues and was ousted on Monday (Sept 14).